RWBY 6 9 - All In
by Darkpenn
Summary: The dice are rolling, rolling, rolling ...


**All In**

 _The dice are rolling, rolling, rolling ..._

[Author's note: This story follows the story _The Game Is Afoot_ , and is the ninth episode of a fanfic version of volume 6.]

The four of them entered the broken hull of the airship. Adam examined the cockpit. "No pilots, dead or alive," he said. "Some sort of remote control mechanism."

Hazel lifted a large wooden box out of a tangle of ropes and chains. The box had metal straps but one corner of it was broken.

Mercury peeked in. "Looks like some sort of lamp or lantern or something," he said.

"That is the Relic of Knowledge," said Hazel. "Very old, very powerful, very important."

"Maybe we should open up the box and ask it some questions," said Emerald. "Because it, you know, knows things. That's the idea, isn't it?"

"And you can be the one to tell Salem that you have given her prize a little test drive," said Mercury.

"Hmm," said Emerald.

"We take it to Salem," said Hazel. "Right now. This is not a debate." He took the portal stone from the bag at his belt.

"Uh, where is the Nevermore thing?" said Adam, looking around.

Hazel shrugged. He held up the stone. A portal opened.

"Just a moment," said Adam. "No attempt at recovery, no pilots, it comes down on an island and not in the sea ... this isn't right."

But the others were walking through the portal. Emerald, with one foot through, looked back. "You coming?" she said. "Or do you have somewhere else you have to be?"

Adam scowled. Then he followed the others.

* * *

"I think we got their attention," said Yang. She cocked her gauntlets.

"Are the Giant Nevermores coming from the tower?" said Ruby.

"Not yet," said Coco. "But there is plenty of other trade heading our way." She gestured at the waves of Grimm creatures coming towards them. She morphed her bag into its gun form.

"There is ... quite a lot of them," said Blake.

"Yes," said Yatsuhashi. "Many. Very many. More than before."

"Let's do this," said Glynda. She raised her crop and loosed a series of energy bolts. A score of Grimm went down.

"Nicely done," said Yang.

"I wasn't always a professor, you know," said Glynda.

"Ah," said Coco. She pointed. "Goliaths. Velvet, will you join me?"

She began to fire at the huge creatures, and Velvet chimed in with a gun-copy. As the Goliaths went down, Coco and Velvet raised their sights and took down a flock of Gryphons.

The nine of them had turned the first wave to ashes but a group of Ursas had managed to get behind them. "Yatsu, V, we take these ones," said Fox. In a few moments, they had dusted the Ursas. But other Grimm were beginning to encircle them.

"Like I said, they're getting smarter," said Glynda.

"They still turn to dust when you shoot them," said Yang, shooting.

Ruby looked around. Hundreds of Grimm had gone down but they were closer on three sides, now.

"So ... this is the plan, then?" said Blake.

"Uh, sort of," said Ruby. She took off the head of a Beowolf but a Beringel reared up, about to strike –

And then turned to ashes as a crossbow arrow smashed into its head. From above. Ruby started in surprise.

"Hey!" shouted a voice. "You guys need any help?"

Nora. Team VALIANT. Plus two. In an airship.

"Welcome to the party!" shouted Yang. Nora led the others in the jump down, and the airship, already being targeted by Gryphons, turned away.

Nebula landed next to Ruby.

"Thanks for the arrow thing," said Ruby. "And good to see you again."

"You too," said Nebula, as she continued to fire arrows. "Not what we expected, though. Tav and I thought we'd hitch a ride. You know, drop in on some friends, do a little shopping, that sort of thing."

"And yet here we are in the middle of a battle," said Octavia. She drew her _kris_ and sent a series of shockwaves into the Grimm. That, plus volleys of grenades from Nora, pushed the attack back. There was a few seconds of respite. The group reloaded, and Velvet quickly began to take more photos.

Ruby looked at the tower. The Nevermores were taking off and heading for them.

"Weiss," said Ruby. "Now."

"Just keep them off me for a few seconds," said Weiss. She knelt down and put her sword point-first on the ground. She concentrated - hard _. I probably shouldn't tell them that when I tried to do this in practice I couldn't achieve it,_ she thought, as beads of sweat ran down her temples. _It would only worry them._

A glyph appeared on the ground, and she expanded the size.

A white claw emerged from the glyph. Then, slowly, a Gryphon climbed out. A vanquished enemy. It gave a screech.

"That's ... well, that's pretty impressive," said Nebula. "Uh, it's on our side, right?"

Ruby looked at Team Coffee, Team VALIANT, Glynda, Nebula, and Octavia – and then at the horde of Grimm creatures.

"Go," said Nora to her. "We've got this."

"Yes," said Coco. "We have."

"And good luck," said Glynda.

Weiss climbed onto the Gryphon's back, and pulled Ruby up. Blake and Yang swung up beside them.

"Now what?" said Yang. "Do we say 'fly, my pretty'?"

"Working on it," said Blake. She put her hands on the Gryphon's head, gathering her will once more.

The Gryphon began to move, one tentative step after another. It began to gallop. It started to flap its wings. The four of them struggled to hang on.

"Next time, resurrect something with bucket seats and a windscreen," said Yang.

"It flies, does it?" said Blake.

"Facetious comments not helping," said Weiss.

"It's what I do," said Blake.

"Uh-oh," said Ruby. She pointed. Three Goliaths were stampeding towards them. "Er, Weiss – "

"I know."

"Any time now."

"I know!"

The Gryphon leaped into the air – and then fell back to the ground. It continued to gallop. The gap was narrowing fast.

"Come on, baby," muttered Weiss. "Come on, you can do it, come on – " And then: " _Come on, you son of a bitch!_ "

The Gryphon staggered into the air. It passed over the charging Goliaths by the width of a hand.

They were off.

* * *

Hazel and the others stepped from the portal into the main chamber of Salem's castle. She was waiting for them.

"Ah," she said. "Finally, you have done something right."

"So now you have a relic," said Mercury.

"Actually, two," said Salem.

Adam was walking around the chamber, as if impressed with the dark grandeur of it. He came to a shelf of portal stones.

Hazel took hold of the metal straps of the box and snapped them. He pulled the wooden sides away and took the lantern out. He placed it on a table in front of Salem.

"At last," she said. She held her hand over it, and there was a glow of light from her palm, to activate the relic's powers.

Nothing happened.

She tried again.

Nothing.

"Hey, what's this engraved on the side?" said Mercury. "Maybe it's the instructions to turn it on."

"Dolt," said Salem. "It doesn't need instructions. But tell me what it says."

Mercury read aloud: _Proudly made by the Lanterns 'R' Us company, Mistral. Antique copies a speciality._

"And there's a date of manufacture," he added. "Two weeks ago."

Salem stared at the lantern. Then her face turned from white to scarlet to the colour of blood. "You idiots!" she screamed. "It's a fake! You brought me a fake! I'll kill all of you! And take your souls!"

Her rage filled the chamber. But then there was a swirl of black smoke on the other side of the room. And from the smoke emerged Team RWBY, snarling, growling, charging, weapons up and ready. The little one, the one with the red cape and silver eyes, leaped at Salem and grabbed her by the throat. And began to squeeze.

Salem unleashed a wave of dark energy. The illusion fell away – and it was not Ruby that had her by the throat. It was Hazel Rainart. He had Dust crystals embedded in his arms.

He managed to turn to Emerald, Mercury and Adam. "Run!" he shouted.

Salem's eyes blazed. She fired bolt after bolt into Hazel but he would not let go.

Adam threw a portal stone to Emerald. "Think of somewhere!" he shouted to her. "Anywhere!"

A portal opened. Emerald, Mercury and Adam dived through. Hazel saw them vanish. He smiled. "You lose," he said to Salem, softly.

Salem shot a massive burst of energy into him. His grip loosened, and his eyes flickered closed. He slumped down. Salem pushed the body away.

She looked around. At the empty chamber, at the fake lantern that sat there, staring at her, mocking her. She fired a blast into it, and it exploded.

Her scream of anger and frustration echoed from one end of the castle to the other.

END (to be continued)


End file.
